Below are some photos from my moms birthday on April 5th. We went to Aucklands Skytower (328 m), the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere.
It has a restaurant at the top, where we dined. You can also see some photos showing Auckland as viewed from the top.

Mount Maunganui beach and mountain; Tauranga. The ocean is a lot warmer and nicer to swim in than in San Diego. Note the huge
fern trees.

Waitangi treaty house: flags are where the treaty
between many Maori chiefs and representatives of the
British Crown signed the ?1840 Treaty of Waitangi, founding
the nation state of New Zealand. This treaty
immediately conferred British citizenship to the native
Maori peoples, and guaranteed the Maori continued use
of their lands, hunting and fishing resources in perpetuity.
The British Crown was given exclusive right to purchase
said lands and resources if the Maori should wish to
relinquish them, at a mutually agreeable price.
Note that the
British representative in New Zealand answered to
someone in Australia, and was paid at half salary
because New Zealand was not deemed sufficiently
important. His proposed 6 room house was deemed too
extravagant, and he was allowed only a small 2 or 3 room
house. He remarked that it was hardly sufficient for his
responsibilities, and could not be expected to help him
gain the respect of the natives, "even in such a place
as New Zealand."

Cape Reinga, the northernmost part of the north Island.
The movement of the ocean were just amazing as it
churned and crashed against the rocks below. Many ships
have been lost in this area. The lighthouse is still
functioning as a lighthouse. It is powered by electricity
from the solar panel on it, stored in a battery.
The beam is visible for about 17 nautical miles, somewhat
less than the original beam.

90 mile beach. When you see buses full of people diving along the beach
at 50+ miles an hour, you think you've seen everything.
Every couple of minutes a bus came flying by.